Talk underpins all learning at Torriano. We believe that each child is unique and has their own unique voice, and that all our children have the right to be heard. We see oracy as a way for all members of our school community to feel valued and for children to learn what it means to be an active contributor in our democratic society. We also know that oracy helps pupils develop and deepen their subject knowledge and critical thinking skills in all areas of the curriculum, which is fundamental to their attainment.
We have partnered with Voice 21 to be part of a national drive to promote oracy in schools, and are part of a program where we receive and offer high quality development opportunities to other schools. We are one of the first schools to be an accredited Voice 21 Oracy Center of Excellence. We work closely with Camden Learning to develop our expertise, and have been part of leading an oracy hub that conducted research on how social disadvantage can be tackled in schools using oracy.
We provide training for school leaders and staff to support the implementation and embedding of oracy pedagogy and curriculum. We also provide exemplification for planning and practice.
Examples of our wider system contributions:
Oracy at Torriano
Speak for Change – Oracy APPG Report
Voice 21 21-22 Impact Report
Children at Torriano learn both to talk, in explicit oracy lessons, and through talk, across the curriculum. We teach oracy skills using a four strand framework:
- linguistic
- physical
- cognitive
- social and emotional
This enables all children to understand and develop the skills needed to be great communicators. Sentence stems, explicit vocabulary teaching, and regular opportunities to explain and challenge each others’ reasoning are a part of lessons and help children to embed their learning. Our curriculum enables children to engage in both exploratory talk (the talk we use to explore and develop our thinking) and presentational talk (the talk we use with an audience to explain, inform or persuade). The skills needed for successful group discussion, formal debate, and speech making are taught throughout the school. Oracy teaching underpins all teaching and learning in the Early Years, closely following the EYFS Framework.
Oracy is at the heart of school life. Throughout the year, children have opportunities for rich and purposeful talk; from producing podcasts on our radio station to interviewing and meeting with local politicians, from leading parents through their learning in interactive Live Lessons to showcasing science learning through talk in our STEAM projects.
